


The Best Christmas

by Anonymous



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Comedy, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28345428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Bucky met Steve when Steve had tried to burn the whole building down.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51
Collections: Anonymous, MCU Christmas Exchange





	The Best Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pseudofoucault333](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudofoucault333/gifts).



> For the MCU Gift Exchange.

Bucky met Steve during cooking class.

Or, to be more precise, Bucky had met Steve _outside_ of the building where he usually had his cooking class, waiting for the fire department to put out the fire that Steve Rogers had started while trying to cook mashed potatoes. In another part of the building. During a beginners class. 

Right in October where it was way more freezing and colder than it should be.

Not that it bothered Bucky, that was one advantage of growing up in Russia, but the other students were pissed. Some of them were also afraid, which he could understand. A legit fire alarm wasn’t something they often experienced.

The one person who stood out was the big guy looking like he wanted to shrink himself until he was the size of a mouse, looking guiltily at the people from the fire department who ran into the building.

It wasn’t a conscious decision to go over. But when Bucky stood next to the guy who easily towered above anyone here it seemed natural.

“So, you burned down the community college?”

The guy flinched and looked sheepishly at Bucky.

“I mean, not that I mind, if I never give a lecture about Shakespear again it will be too soon, but… burning it down definitely seems a bit over the top.”

And Steve had laughed, the embarrassed look still there but slowly making room for a smile.

“I got that course gifted from my friends. They claim I cannot live on frozen meals, their leftovers and take out my whole life… but if this is the alternative…”

Bucky grinned, watching the first fireman coming out of the building again, looking for poor Joseph who probably had been the one unlucky enough to teach Steve cooking.

“I think they lie. But hey, you saved me from Shakespear and then from a lecture about how mental illness can be found in victorian literature without perceiving it like mental illness, rather treating it as a normal character trait and then narrating how society makes us interpret certain behaviours as mental illness. The least I can do is to buy you a coffee. Or hot chocolate. Whatever you prefer.”

Steve looked a bit dumbfounded at Bucky, who decided not to take it too personally. He would’ve stared at himself, too. 

“Victorian literature about…. I am not sure if you really saved yourself from that lecture, to be honest. It got me hooked and I am sure I would bring it up during coffee.”

Bucky laughed and nodded.

“That’s fair, punk. There’s a great café just a few streets down. You wanna ditch class with me?”

~*~*~

As it turned out, Steve was more the type for tea. He explained to Bucky that he couldn’t stomach coffee at all, and was lactose intolerant , which ruled out most hot chocolate. And ultimately that he’d been heavily influenced by a friend’s boyfriend who lived way too long in Asian countries and now only drank tea.

It also turned out that Steve was gay and single (which was a crying shame, if Bucky dared to say so), had served just like Bucky (albeit, not as long, which Bucky thought was a real good thing) and now owned his own media…. advertisement… thingy… company. Bucky lost track when Steve had told him about it, not really understanding anything but loving how Steve opened up while explaining to Bucky how the world of art could be transformed to be eye catching and valuable for other companies and stuff like that.

In return, Steve listened to Bucky bitch about his students and his job at the garage he and another guy from his unit had opened up after they came back. He listened to Bucky bitch about his noisy neighbour, who was deaf and definitley didn’t wear his aids during sex. And his noisy neighbour’s stupid boyfriend who Bucky dubbed ‘The Suit’, and who always just smiled blandly at Bucky even when he gave The Suit his best murder glare (and then The Suit didn’t even change anything about the noise. But if Bucky was the reason his boyfriend was screaming the house down, well… Bucky wouldn’t change anything either.)

It also didn’t stay at one tea for Steve and one coffee for Bucky.

First, it was another meeting in a café. Then during Steve’s lunch. Then after work for Bucky. Then dinner. None of them knew why, but they took it slow. As if they both knew that this was something special. Or maybe just because they were afraid to fuck it up.

October also turned into November real fast, bringing rain and overall blerghs with it. Bucky never liked autumn. Steve though, he loved it. Loved to draw the different colours the leaves got. Loved to get fancy, strange tea blends with his friend Tony who pretended he hated them and even more what they did to coffee with those blends, while secretly drinking them, too, when no one looked. Bucky knew that because he met the guy one day when he ordered a pumpkin chai spice latte with cinnamon sprinkles and edible glitter.

Bucky made Tony pay for his drink and promised him to never tell anyone. It was still good blackmailing material. Just in case

And then November started to slowly turn into December, making the city even colder but also bringing snow. Sure, in most parts of the city it turned into a grey slush very fast, but Bucky still loved it. It reminded him of home.

Steve though, Steve hated winter with a passion. He could make it look beautiful when he drew or photographed it, but he hated it. He told Bucky that his asthma got worse and that he always felt as if his chest was restricted. But he also told Bucky of the Christmases he had with his mother, of homemade bread and a nice, simple meal with a roast and potatoes and everything.

He sounded wistful.

It was an offer which Bucky didn’t really think about. He still did it, offering Steve the invitation to celebrate Christmas with him and his own mismatched family, consisting mainly of Natasha and Logan, and some other strays they usually collected. Cooking and eating and pretending they hated each other while drinking expensive vodka Bucky has no clue where Natasha got it.

But the smile on Steve’s face? Absolutely worth the inner freakout.

~*~*~

Bucky had to admit - the freakout only started to fade long after the meal, when he heard Steve joking with Natasha’s new boyfriend Sam while jabbing sarcastic comments at Logan.

It sounded like home.

Especially when Steve slung his arms around Bucky from behind.

“Thank you.” Steve murmured.

It felt natural to turn around and pull Steve down. It felt good to see Steve’s pupils widen.

It felt brilliant to finally kiss Steve for the first time, knowing that whatever would come after, for now it would be the best Christmas ever.


End file.
